The Lentil That Defied Definition.

Remember how I said that one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to clean one surface in my apartment every single day and it led to this recipe for lemon pound cake?  You know, that one where (horror of horrors!) I found an old Weight Watchers cookbook and sullied their name by reversing all the healthful benefits of their recipe?  Well, you would have if you had subscribed to my blog, liked the Facebook page or read those tweets.  Just sayin..

Anyways, now that I’ve given you a moment to click on all three and sign up, I had also found an unopened bag of lentils in that cabinet that day.  Come on, you know you do it too.  You think “I’m going to make something hearty and satisfying for a dime!” in January, put it on the shelf with all the rest of your economical dried beans and pasta and stuff, then realize that the bag of plucky little lentils goes untouched until Kwanzaa  of the next year.  Don’t give me that look.  I bet its the only reason navy beans are still sold as well.

Well, that happened to me.  Sometime this last year I bought a bag of lentils, thinking I was going to make something and then I didn’t, and then the bag just sat there all year.  So I decided that there was no better time than the present to use up some of those economical little bastards.

But how?  I have never been a big fan of lentil soup, likening it to a bowl of brown sandy mush.  I see that there’s a trend right now of putting lentils under pieces of meat at restaurants, but I’m a vegetarian.  No way was I going to touch a casserole with these babies, that would be heading into mid-seventies post hippie mom territory.  It must be salad.

So I got to work and made this thing, and admittedly it IS a good simple combination of lentils and whatnot, but it kind of defies “salad”.  I tried it with lardons of goat cheese at first (by the way, lardons of goat cheese don’t form a crust nearly as well… or at all… as slices off the log) and that was fine, but this definitely seems better suited as a side dish..  or maybe even under something for you pescatarians out there.  It also may well work on top of some salad greens, who knows.  Warm, cold, somewhere in between, this works.   Whatever you would like to call this dish, I personally would err on the side of “wow”.

Lentil Something

Ingredients:

-I cup dry lentils

-4 cups vegetable stock

-1 red bell pepper, seeded and membranes removed

-1 shallot

-1 1/2 cups crimini mushrooms

-1 clove garlic

-2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

-kosher salt

-ground black pepper

-Olive oil

How to:

1. Put the lentils and stock into a pot and cover it.  Bring the pot to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer.

2. Meanwhile, finely dice the red bell pepper, shallot and mushrooms.  Set aside.

3. Heat some oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  While the oil is heating, thinly slice the garlic.

4. Add the garlic to the pan and let it cook for a minute or two.  Then add the rest of the vegetables that were just chopped.  You will lightly brown these.

5. Stir the pan frequently.  Add in salt and pepper to taste (about a tablespoon of each).

6. When the vegetables pick up a little color, turn off the heat and set them aside.

7. The lentils should be pretty close to done by the time that all the vegetables are cooked.  If not, let them go for a few minutes more.

8.  Combine the lentils and the vegetables together in the saute pan.  Add in the balsamic and stir well.  Adjust the seasoning as needed.

9. If the liquid makes the salad seem a little “soupy”, they can be heated slightly to cook down some of the vinegar.

10. Serve immediately or chill.